Verbs in Active and Passive Voice (Grade 11 NSC Matric English FAL): Revision Notes
Verbs in Active and Passive Voice
Understanding active and passive voice
Voice in grammar shows the relationship between the action in a sentence and the person or thing performing or receiving that action. There are two types of voice: active and passive. Understanding the difference helps you write more effectively and answer exam questions correctly.
What is active voice?
In active voice, the person or thing doing the action (the subject) appears at the beginning of the sentence. This creates direct, clear sentences where the focus is on who or what is performing the action.
Active Voice Structure: Subject + Verb + Object
The subject performs the action in this voice pattern, making it the most straightforward way to construct sentences.
Key features:
- The subject carries out the action
- The sentence follows a straightforward pattern
- The meaning is immediately clear
Active Voice Example: "The striker scored a goal."
Breaking down the sentence components:
- Subject: The striker (the person doing the action)
- Verb: scored (the action being performed)
- Object: a goal (what receives the action)
Active voice creates strong, direct sentences because the reader knows exactly who did what.
What is passive voice?
In passive voice, the person or thing receiving the action becomes the subject of the sentence. The original subject (the doer) either moves to the end of the sentence or disappears completely. This shifts the focus away from who performed the action to what happened.
Passive Voice Structure: Object (as new subject) + Form of 'to be' + Past participle + (Optional: by + original subject)
The receiver of the action takes the prominent position at the start of the sentence, while the doer becomes optional.
Key features:
- The receiver of the action becomes the sentence subject
- The doer can be mentioned at the end or omitted entirely
- The sentence sounds more formal or impersonal
Passive Voice Example: "The goal was scored by the striker."
Analyzing the passive structure:
- Subject: The goal (receiving the action)
- Verb: was scored (passive form)
- Optional doer: by the striker (who performed the action)
When the doer is not important or unknown, you can leave it out completely: "The goal was scored."
Converting active voice to passive voice
Follow these four steps to change an active sentence into passive voice successfully. This process works for any tense.
Step 1: Identify the verb
Find the main verb in the sentence. This tells you what action is happening.
Step 2: Divide the sentence
Break the sentence into three parts:
- Subject (who/what does the action)
- Verb (the action)
- Object (who/what receives the action)
Step 3: Start with the object
Begin your new passive sentence with the object from the active sentence. This object becomes the new subject.
Step 4: Change the verb form
Transform the verb using this formula:
- Use the past participle of the main verb (e.g., scored becomes scored, trained becomes trained)
- Add the correct form of 'to be' that matches your tense (is, was, will be, has been, etc.)
- Sometimes use 'got' instead of 'to be' (e.g., "I got stung by a bee")
Critical Rule: The tense must remain exactly the same when converting between voices. Only the voice structure changes, not the time reference of the action.
Examples in different tenses
The passive voice structure changes depending on the tense you're using. Here's how active and passive voice work across common tenses:
Present continuous tense
- Active: "The striker is scoring a goal."
- Passive: "A goal is being scored by the striker."
Notice how 'is scoring' becomes 'is being scored' - the continuous aspect is maintained using 'being' + past participle.
Perfect tense
- Active: "The striker has scored a goal."
- Passive: "A goal has been scored by the striker."
Notice how 'has scored' becomes 'has been scored' - the perfect aspect requires 'been' + past participle.
Simple future tense
- Active: "The striker will score a goal."
- Passive: "A goal will be scored by the striker."
Notice how 'will score' becomes 'will be scored' - the future modal 'will' stays the same, with 'be' + past participle following it.
Worked examples
Converting active to passive voice
Worked Example 1: "Money provides financial freedom."
Step-by-step solution:
- Subject: Money
- Verb: provides
- Object: financial freedom
Passive construction: "Financial freedom is provided by money."
The object 'financial freedom' moves to the front, and 'provides' becomes 'is provided'.
Worked Example 2: "Robert is training someone every week."
Step-by-step solution:
- Subject: Robert
- Verb: is training
- Object: someone
Passive construction: "Someone is being trained by Robert every week."
Notice this uses present continuous, so we need 'is being' + past participle to maintain the continuous aspect.
Worked Example 3: "The 18-year-old had developed an illness causing paralysis."
Step-by-step solution:
- Subject: The 18-year-old
- Verb: had developed
- Object: an illness causing paralysis
Passive construction: "An illness causing paralysis had been developed by the 18-year-old."
This past perfect tense requires 'had been' + past participle to preserve the time relationship.
Converting passive to active voice
Worked Example: "Graça Machel is admired greatly by the people of Mozambique."
Step-by-step solution:
To convert passive to active, find the doer (after 'by') and make it the subject:
- Current subject: Graça Machel
- Doer: the people of Mozambique
- Verb: is admired → admire
Active construction: "The people of Mozambique greatly admire Graça Machel."
The doer becomes the subject, and you use the active form of the verb.
Exam tips
Understanding when and how to use active and passive voice is essential for your NSC exams. Keep these points in mind:
Always identify the components first. Before changing voice, clearly mark the subject, verb, and object in the sentence. This prevents confusion and errors in your answers.
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Keep the tense consistent. When converting from active to passive (or vice versa), the tense must stay exactly the same. If the active sentence is in past tense, the passive version must also be in past tense.
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Recognise the formality of passive voice. Passive voice creates a more formal, impersonal tone. You'll often see it in academic writing, scientific reports, and formal documents. Examiners may ask you to identify why an author chose passive voice.
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Use active voice for clarity. Active voice makes your subject clear and direct. It's usually the better choice for straightforward communication because readers can immediately identify who did what.
When the doer disappears: In passive sentences, the doer (the original subject) can be left out. This happens when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
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Active voice means the subject performs the action (e.g., "The striker scored a goal"), while passive voice means the subject receives the action (e.g., "The goal was scored").
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To convert active to passive: identify the verb, divide into Subject-Verb-Object, start with the object, and change the verb to past participle with the correct form of 'to be'.
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The tense must remain the same when converting between active and passive voice. Only the voice structure changes.
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Passive voice often sounds more formal and is common in academic or scientific writing, whilst active voice is clearer and more direct.
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In passive sentences, you can include the doer using 'by' (e.g., "by the striker") or leave it out completely when it's not important.